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1994 RHI season
Max Mikhailovsky (Los Angeles) | MVP_link = | top_scorer = John Young (Minnesota) | top_scorer_link = | playoffs =Playoffs | playoffs_link =1994 Murphy Cup playoffs | conf1 =Eastern | conf1_link =Eastern Conference (RHI) | conf1_champ =Buffalo Stampede | conf1_runner-up =Minnesota Arctic Blast | conf2 =Western | conf2_link =Western Conference (RHI) | conf2_champ =Portland Rage | conf2_runner-up =Anaheim Bullfrogs | finals =Murphy Cup | finals_link =1994 Murphy Cup Finals | finals_champ =Buffalo Stampede | finals_runner-up =Portland Rage | playoffs_MVP = John Vecchiarelli (Buffalo) | playoffs_MVP_link= |nextseason_year = 1995 |prevseason_year = 1993 | seasonslistnames =RHI }} The 1994 RHI season was the 2nd season of Roller Hockey International. It began on June 4, 1994, with the regular season ending in August. The Murphy Cup playoffs ended in September, with the Buffalo Stampede defeating the Portland Rage to win their first Murphy Cup. The Vancouver Voodoo hosted the 1st RHI All-Star Game at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 9, 1994. League business Franchise changes Arena changes The Vancouver Voodoo played games at both their original home the PNE Agrodome, as well as the much larger Pacific Coliseum. The Calgary Rad'z made the Max Bell Centre their permanent home arena. The Anaheim Bullfrogs' home, Anaheim Arena, was renamed the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. New logos and uniforms The Anaheim Bullfrogs, Florida Hammerheads, Los Angeles Blades, and Oakland Skates debuted new logos and uniforms for the season, while the San Diego Barracudas and St. Louis Vipers debuted new uniforms. Contraction The Toronto Planets folded after only one season in the league. Relocation The Connecticut Coasters relocated to Sacramento, California to become the Sacramento River Rats, and the Utah Rollerbees relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada to become the Las Vegas Flash. Expansion The league doubled in size from 12 teams to 24 by adding 13 new franchises, including the Atlanta Fire Ants, Buffalo Stampede, Chicago Cheetahs, Edmonton Sled Dogs, Minnesota Arctic Blast, Montreal Roadrunners, New England Stingers, New Jersey Rockin Rollers, Philadelphia Bulldogs, Phoenix Cobras, Pittsburgh Phantoms, San Jose Rhinos, and Tampa Bay Tritons. Realignment With the larger RHI, for this season the league realigned its teams into two conferences, each with two divisions, each with six teams. Following what new National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman had done with the NHL's realignment, RHI new conferences and divisions were now geographically-named. Teams were placed into either the Eastern Conference, in the Atlantic Division or Central Division, or the Western Conference, in the Northwest Division or Pacific Division. In addition, the playoff format was altered to resemble that of the pre–1993 NHL. Whereas the playoffs had previously been bracketed and seeded by league, they were now broken down by division and conference: the top four teams in each division were seeded one to four, with one playing four and two playing three, with the two winners playing in the division finals. Then the two division winners would play for the right to play for the Murphy Cup. The length of the playoff series were also expanded from a single elimination until the Murphy Cup Finals which was a best-of-three games, to best-of-three games in all series, with the third game being a one 12–minute period. Game one would be played at the lower seeded team's home arena, while games two and three would be played at the higher seeded team's home arena. Season schedule RHI increased its regular season schedule from 14 to 22 games per team. Regular season Divisional standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Note: x''' – clinched playoff spot, '''y – clinched division title, z''' – clinched regular season conference title, '''b – clinched best overall record, e – eliminated from playoff contention Tiebreaking procedures If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the ranking of the clubs is determined in the following order: #The fewer number of games played. #The greater number of games won. #The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season. #The fewer number of goals against. Statistical leaders Scoring leaders Leading goaltenders Playoffs Playoff seeds After the regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Minnesota Arctic Blast were the Eastern Conference regular season champions and had the best overall record at 37 points. The Los Angeles Blades had the best record in the Western Conference with 36 points. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division #Buffalo Stampede – Atlantic Division champions, 34 points #Montreal Roadrunners – 26 points #Philadelphia Bulldogs – 24 points #New Jersey Rockin Rollers – 23 points Central Division #Minnesota Arctic Blast – Central Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions; Best Overall Record winners, 37 points #Pittsburgh Phantoms – 26 points #Chicago Cheetahs – 24 points #Atlanta Fire Ants – 22 points Western Conference Northwest Division #Vancouver Voodoo – Northwest Division champions, 31 points #Calgary Rad'z – 26 points #Phoenix Cobras – 24 points #Portland Rage – 23 points Pacific Division #Los Angeles Blades – Pacific Division and Western Conference regular season champions, 36 points #San Jose Rhinos – 28 points #Anaheim Bullfrogs – 27 points #San Diego Barracudas – 22 points Playoff bracket In the first two rounds, the highest seed in each division is matched against the lowest remaining seed, with the two division finals winners in each conference matched against each other in the conference finals. The higher-seeded team is awarded home floor advantage, which gives them a possible maximum of two games on their home floor, with the lower-seeded team getting one. In the Murphy Cup Finals, home floor is determined based on regular season points. Thus, the Buffalo Stampede had home floor advantage in the Murphy Cup Finals. Each best-of-three series, with the third game a one 12–minute period, followed a 1–2 format. This means that the lower-seeded team had home floor for game 1, while the higher-seeded team had home floor for game 2, and if necessary, the 12–minute period game 3. RHI awards See also * Season structure of RHI * 1994 Murphy Cup playoffs * 1994 RHI Draft * 1993 RHI season * 1994 RHI transactions * 1st Roller Hockey International All-Star Game * Roller Hockey International All-Star Game * 1994 in sports Category:Roller Hockey International Category:1994 in sports de:Roller Hockey International 1994